Mothers Killing Their Babies. First,

¶ … mothers killing their babies. First, an overview of the reasons why mothers kill their babies will be presented. The methods that are most commonly used will then be discussed. Statistics of offenders will be presented, including age, race and socio-economic status. Methods of prevention for this tragic crime will be explored. Lastly, implications of this knowledge will be given.

There is nothing more tragic then the death of a child. When that death comes at the hands of their mother, it turns a tragedy into a horrific event that is hard for most to even conceive. Although this event may be more publicized in today's world, thanks to 24-hour a day news stations and the ever-present Internet, mothers killing their children is not a new occurrence. In ancient times, it was often a ritual to kill babies who exhibited aesthetic or structural abnormalities. These cases have been documented in a variety of ancient civilizations from the ancient Chinese, Aztecs, Australia's Mardudjara Aborigines, and several African cultures. Ancient Greek and Roman culture even had instances where neonaticide was even enforced by law (Craig, 2004).

Rouge-Maillart, Jousset, Gaudin, Bouju, and Penneau (2005) and Craig (2004) define neonaticide as the killing of a child within the first 24 hours of its birth. Craig further explains that infanticide, as defined by the Infanticide Act, occurs when a mother, through a willful act or omission, kills her child when it is under the age of 12 months. However, the mother is still mentally imbalanced from giving birth to the infant, or the effect of lactation. In contrast, filicide is the killing of a child by its parent at any time. Although official numbers are difficult to compile, since so many incidents go unreported, Montaldo (2009) cites the American Anthropological Association as noting that, in the United States, more than 200 women kill their children, each year. In fact, for children under the age of four, homicide is the leading cause of death.

This paper explores the disturbing occurrence of mothers killing their babies. First, an overview of the reasons why mothers kill their babies will be presented. The methods that are most commonly used will then be discussed. Statistics of offenders will be presented, including age, race and socio-economic status. Methods of prevention for this tragic crime will be explored. Lastly, implications of this knowledge will be given.

Reasons Why Mothers Kill their Babies:

Looking at historical evidence, Craig (2004) notes that throughout time there are three risk factors that have led to an increased incidence of neonaticide -- female gender, economics, and congenital birth defects. As noted, since ancient times cultures have had ritual killing of children who were born with aesthetic or structural birth defects, and in some cases this was also law. This was done in order to improve the genetic makeup of the culture, as well as to ensure these infants wouldn't grow up to be burdens on the state. Neonaticide due to birth defects has not been the only historical motivator, gender and economics has played a strong part as well over the centuries.

In medieval England, census figures show an increased incidence of male children. This, Craig (2004) surmises, shows a strong suggestion of deliberate female filicide. However, it was not only medieval England where this disturbing trend was found, but also Eskimo cultures in Canada and cultures Rajastan, Tamil Nadu, and Bihar, in Indian and China. The reasoning for these trends of female infant homicide has been attributed to a variety of factors, most centering on economic reasoning. Male children could contribute to the household through labor and financially. Female children, on the other hand, were most often seen as an economic burden. In addition, culling of female infants was also used as population control. Despite these strong historic trends, not all hold true today. Craig cites Marks and Kumar's analysis of neonaticide rates from 1982 to 1988. In this study, the authors found that boys were just as equally likely to be victims as girls. Therefore, it was concluded that gender apparently no longer plays a significant role in the reasoning behind why mothers kill their infants.

Krischer, Stone, Sevecke, and Steinmeyer (2007) studied the modern reasoning behind maternal filicide, by analyzing admission records of 840 females who had been admitted to Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Hsopital from 1976 to 2000. Of the 840 women, it was found that 45 women had killed at least one of their own children. Twelve additional had attempted filicide, with the child surviving, and were included in the research sample. The women in the sample were between the ages of 16 and 54 years of age, with only 7% being teenagers. All of these women were suffering from some form of mental health disease This coincides with Kauppi, Kumpulainen, Vanamo, Merikanto, and Karkola's (2008) findings in their study if ten filicide cases that all of the mothers had clearly expressed symptoms of depression.

There were two primary categories of mental health disorders that Krischer, Stone, Sevecke, and Steinmeyer (2007) found in their study -- schizophrenic disorders and depressive or affective disorders. Sixty-three percent of the women fell into the schizophrenic category. Forty-two percent of the women overall were diagnosed with schizophrenia, while the remaining schizophrenic diagnoses were either diagnosed as either suffering from schizoaffective disorder or delusional disorder. Thirty percent of the women studied had diagnoses that fell into the depressive or affective diseases. These diagnoses included: major depression, psychotic depression, postpartum depression, bipolar disorder, and psychogenetic amnesia. Only three of the 57 women studied had no axis-1 diagnosis.

There are a variety of factors that lead to mothers killing their babies. These include: anger, drug abuse, low IQ, no partner, poverty, suicide attempts, depression spectrum, abuse, and rejection. Krischer, Stone, Sevecke, and Steinmeyer (2007) find that neonaticide, infanticide, and filicide all have different combinations of these factors that were catalysts for their study participants' offenses. The researchers found 3 sample cases they surmised were representative of each of the groups. For the neonaticide group, their typical case was a 43-year-old mentally retarded woman who also suffered from chronic schizophrenia. The woman had already had five children that had all been taken from her and placed into foster care. She denied her pregnancy and gave birth to the baby in a bathroom and then killed it by throwing it into the garbage. The case the authors felt exemplified their study findings for mothers who committed infanticide was a 30-year-old white, middle-class, woman who was divorced. Paranoid that her ex-husband's family wanted to take her child away from her, she got angry and set fire to her 9-month-old's crib. Lastly, for the filicide group, the case of a 35-year-old woman best represents this group, according to the authors. The woman had a long history of major depression and marital problems. Delusional, she began to imagine her children were being sexually abused at school and forbid them to attend. When her husband had left for work one day, she stabbed all four of her children and then tried to commit suicide with the same knife. For younger mothers, the motivation is slightly different.

Craig (2004) cites Overpeck's study of neonaticide where he found that half of the perpetrators were under the age of 19 years old. Craig further surmises that mothers who commit neonaticide are most often single and still living in their parents' home. There is typically limited communication between the family and the young mother-to-be. While some studies blame this lack of communication on the parents and the upbringing of their own child, others surmise that it is the fault of the mother-to-be and their personal characteristics of being timed, immature, with a low IQ, and passive. This passivity has been theorized to be the determining factor regarding whether or not the woman terminates the pregnancy or later commits neonaticide.

Denial too is a reason why many younger, teenage mothers kill their babies. Oftentimes the normal signs of pregnancy are 'rationalized away', due to this denial. This coping strategy is so strong Crag (2004) states that labor pains are explained as menstrual pains and delivery as having a bowel movement. There is also the common characteristic of pregnancy concealment, for those who commit neonaticide. In addition, an explanation as to why these mothers simply did not have an abortion is usually found in the increased incidence of neonaticide in communities where abortion was less socially acceptable.

Illegitimacy is another reason younger, teenage mothers commit neonaticide, according to Craig (2004). In fact, he cites Resnick as noting it to be the primary reasoning for unmarried mothers now and throughout history. Although the stigma of having a child out of wedlock is not as great as it was in the past, for teenage mothers still living at home, this stigma is still significant. Friedman, Horwitz, and Resnick (2005) describe the typical neonaticide mother as one who is young, unmarried, with an unwanted pregnancy, and has had no prenatal care. Although one could argue that the lack of prenatal care is likely not a cause of the neonaticide, but instead simply a result of the unwanted pregnancy and the other factors, such as denial, mentioned previously.

Methods of Killing

The methods of committing neonaticide, infanticide, and filicide are as diverse as the women who commit the tragic crime. According to Rouge-Maillart, Jousset, Gaudin, Bouju, and Penneau (2005), strangulation, head trauma, drowning, and suffocation were the four most frequent methods of filicide. However, in these researchers' study, some mothers used what they deem to be 'more active' methods. Five children died after being struck by their mothers' fists. Two women in the study used a firearm to shoot their children. Two died after being hit with a heavy object, by their mother -- one a monkey wrench the other a stone. One woman slit her 13-year-old's throat. In one case, a 3-year-old boy died by defenestration -- being thrown out of the window. Lastly, a 10-month-old died of starvation and dehydration, after being deprived of food and water for 10 days.

Krischer, Stone, Sevecke, and Steinmeyer's (2007) study uncovered a variety of methods of killing children in their 57 cases. Of particular interest is the relationship to the type of homicide to the method used. The researchers found that neonaticide was most often committed, in their sample, by either suffocating or hitting. Infanticide was most closely related to firesetting. In contrast, filicide was most often found related to the methods of stabbing and shooting.

Statistics of Perpetrators

Depending on the mental health variable, the statistics for perpetrators differ greatly. In Krischer, Stone, Sevecke, and Steinmeyer's (2007) study of 57 women who had been admitted to Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Hospital from 1976 to 2000, a majority of the women were over the age of 30, with only 7% being teenagers. Using this same data, Stone, Steinmeyer, Dreher, and Krishner (2005) found that eighty-one percent were from low socioeconomic demographics. Of the ten mothers Kauppi, Kumpulainen, Vanamo, Merikanto, and Karkola's (2008) studied, the mean age was 28.5 years. Eighty percent of the perpetrators lived in rural areas, while the other 20% lived in smaller cities. As a whole, the level of education was low and only 30% held white-collar jobs, while the remainder were skilled workers. All ten were married. Seventy percent of the mothers indicated that the child was wanted, and for half this was not their first child. Only 2 out of the 10 mothers indicated difficulties in their marriage, with 1 indicating domestic violence. In this study, only 3 had a previous mental disorder history. However, half indicated they had a lack of support. In Rouge-Maillart, Jousset, Gaudin, Bouju, and Penneau's (2005) research, the mean age of mothers was 29.5 years-old, with none under the age of 19. Approximately one-third were unemployed. Yet, 70% of the perpetrators were married.